Increase In Online Shopping Scams

According to Trans Union, a global information and insights company, suspected online shopping scams increased by 42% in Kenya ahead of the holiday shopping rush.

In the report between November 24 and November 28, 15% of all global e-commerce transactions were examined and may have been fraudulent.

It was discovered that 5.4% of transactions within that time period with Kenyan origins were thought to be fraudulent.

The analysis also discovered that during the holiday season, there were 82% more suspected digital fraud attempts globally on any given day than there were from January 1 to November 23.

This percentage was 15% lower in Kenyan-originated transactions.

Senior vice-president and director of Global Fraud Solutions at Trans- Union Shai Cohen, highlighted that during the holidays, fraudsters increase their activity online because so many people are flocking to online stores to make purchases. “Fraudulent activity tends to be particularly prevalent in online retail during the holiday shopping season,” said Mr Cohen.

Online retailers should equip themselves with powerful tools to spot and stop online fraud, according to Morris Maina, Chief Executive of Trans-Union Kenya in order to protect their customers from con artists.